Introduction
Many researchers have studied the performance of religious behaviours and ritual practices in the early species of animals. Rituals are a series of religious actions that are according to a certain prescribed way, which means that ritual practices are based upon specific meanings that have been predetermined. The symbolic meanings of rituals are usually communicated and passed on through language. However, the early species of apes did not have strong language development. This idea then raises the question as to whether animals assign meanings to the ritual practices if in case they display religious behaviours. This research project seeks to reveal whether and how apes as early species have symbolic meanings to rituals. Human beings perform rituals for various purposes, and each of the rituals has implications based on a particular religion. Many researchers have focused on investigating whether apes and other animal species display religious behaviours. However, no research determines if these rituals have meanings to various species of animals. The research question is, do apes construct symbolic meanings to rituals? Understanding this research question will provide valuable insight into the religious and ritual practices of early animal species. The findings can create an understanding of the evolution of human religion.
Literature Review
Previous researchers have focused on investigating whether the early species of animals engaged in any form of religious practice. The view on whether the various species of animals display religious behaviours have remained controversial over the years. Recent studies have, however, shown that apes species display religious practices, an indication of religious beliefs. The apes are capable of moral agency, which shows that they can understand and share spiritual emotions ( Harrod, 2014 ). Other studies have also suggested that individual animals such as chimpanzees may have culture and spirituality build upon connectedness, sociality, and symbolic interpretation. Apes dance at the onset of heavy rains, which is significantly associated with high chances of religious emotions by this group of animal species ( Harrod, 2014 ). The display of various behaviours by animal species continues to raise controversy as to whether they are religious behaviours or not. One group of researchers argues that apes do not engage in any kind of religious behaviour and that what they display is a mere display of emotions. One area of confirmation used to show that apes practice religious rituals is the ability of these animal species to show empathy and fairness, which are always associated with religious beliefs and practices. In contrast to this view, Berthomé & Houseman (2014) agree that apes can display specific actions such as empathy and fairness, which are common in human beings. However, he contradicts the idea of apes being able to demonstrate religious practices.
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The practice of religious rituals requires the development of symbolic meanings to these practices. Spirituality and engagement in religious practices require assigning meaning to the rituals. Meaning is mainly constructed and passed through language, which is not well developed amongst the apes' species. The controversy arises on the similarity of these religious behaviours to that of humans. While it is an expectation that the apes will display similar ritual practices as humans, others have argued that religion is unique on its own, and every species have its practice ( Harrod, 2014 ). Research also shows that apes and other species of animals display a series of behaviours that can be deemed religious. Such actions include birth, deaths, and consortship ( Harrod, 2014 ). These species of animals can express emotions in a variety of ways through these ritual practices as a way to display religious meanings. However, the primary issue that emerges is whether such displays are a mere expression of emotions in natural forms or if they have meanings. The other argument has been based on the symbolic abilities of apes to assign meanings to the various rituals that they display. This view has led to new controversy in this area of religious studies. Apes lack a developed form of language to enhance communication of meanings in religious beliefs. The modern view of religious studies notes that the display of religious behaviours by apes happens out of the unconscious mind. The apes themselves are not aware and lack symbolic meanings to these actions, which cannot then translate to religious rituals.
The research to confirm the existence of religious beliefs by apes focuses their cognitive abilities to hold certain practices in a predetermined manner. Harrod (2014) notes that the apes achieve the first-order symbolic behaviour, which is useful in understanding the religious practices of the apes. This first-order symbolic behaviour shows the abilities of apes to consciously take part in the ritual processes as a way to express emotions. However, this study contradicts Berthomé & Houseman (2014) , who hold that apes do not have any capacity for the development of symbolic behaviours. The practice of any ritual requires a deeper understanding of the meaning. For example, birth and death rituals tend to have meanings in different religious practices. Without the construction of proper meaning to a ritual practice using cognitive capacity, then the whole process becomes a mere expression of natural feelings rather than religious practices. The information about the need for capacity for symbolic behaviour is essential in understanding the complexity surrounding the religious practices of the apes and other species of animals.
Even though some scholars argue that apes do not have language and thus lack meaning, other research has presented a different view. According to Harrod (2014), apes show a wide range of communicative behaviours, including gestures, facial expressions, and body postures, which can pass the meaning of a particular practice. Even though they lack verbal communication, this group of animal species has a well-sophisticated use of gestures to communicate meanings. This finding contradicts certain researchers who have argued that apes species cannot display symbolic behaviour and implications of various practices. Furthermore, the results of the communicative abilities of apes show that they can use signals to display certain practices, which are symbols for specific rituals (Harrod, 2014). They have a strong ability to understand symbols as a tool for communication. For example, apes can dance when they come across a waterfall or at the onset of heavy rain. While some researchers view this act as lacking any conscious symbolic meaning, others view it as a deliberate ritual practice that has a deeper meaning to this group of species. The findings in this area provide relevant data on the ability of the apes to develop symbolic meanings for their ritual practices.
Ritual studies offer a variety of ways in which the rituals can be studied in the broader context of human behaviours. One option that researchers use in the ritual studies is performance. The performance of a ritual comes as a preconditioned process that is backed by symbolic meaning and awareness ( McVicar, 2013 ). Rituals involve a play, and these plays are actions that are performed according to a specific prescribed order. Humans have a deeper understanding of each of the rituals and have assigned symbolic meaning to each of them. An example of a ritual that comes with deeper symbolic meanings is the pilgrimages. This ritual is part of the Muslims by Muslims and involves a journey for the search of spiritual significance (youtube, 2020). It entails a range of activities, including dressing in a white kanzu and refraining from certain activities, including drinking and smoking. It has a spiritual significance toward one's religious beliefs. The paradox in this is that human beings have evolved throughout their lives ought to display certain similarities in religious practices with animals. In contrast, no similarity exists between the religious practices between apes and humans. Human beings have a strong capacity to think in abstract and communicate through a complex cognitive process compared to the apes.
Apes also tend to display high levels of emotions in their daily lives. They can display emotions relating to ear, food enjoyment, and social excitement. Displaying these emotions show that the animals understand and interpret the symbolic meanings for their actions. The capacity of apes to understand their actions during emotional display can also apply to the religious display. The whole paradox of emotional display and rituals can be better understood using classical theories of rituals. According to Durkheim's theory of rituals as creating a feeling, people tend to perform rituals as a way to develop feelings ( Rosati, 2016 ). People want to feel belonging to a particular group and would thus take part in the rituals taken by that specific group as a way of showing belongingness. Members of specific religious groups take part in certain rituals to create a feeling of belongingness. However, Durkheim notes that it is vital to distinguish religious behaviour from other actions. For Durkheim, a ritual has to be some action that entails the belief system of the society. The "belief systems and myths are viewed as expressions of the nature of the sacred realm. The ritual becomes the determined conduct of the individual in a society expressing a relation to the sacred and the profane (Rosati, 2016). The rituals have to display some form of cultural reflection and present sacredness of these beliefs.
The classical theory of rituals can then determine if the behaviours displayed by apes and other animals are religious behaviours. Studies have shown that apes have an abundant emotional life. The ability to understand, interprets, and acts in an emotional response means that the apes can also seek the feeling of belongingness to a group (Harrod, 2014). The behavioural display is as a result of the emotional response to certain situations. These emotions have been symbolically constructed to create a deeper meaning of purpose. In contrast, other researchers argue that apes lack the theory of mind and thus unable to understand the feelings of any kind. Durkheim’s theory holds that rituals are rooted in cultures that determine the way people carry on certain activities (Rosati, 2016). On the other hand, the primatologists have also agreed that apes display certain customary practices that guide in religious behaviour. These patterns of behaviours are based on certain set forms of actions that are applicable in expressing feelings.
Other classical theorists such as Tylor and Frazer also view rituals as an application of beliefs. Frazer views ritual practices as a scientific endeavour, which represents the early groping of the primitive culture. Frazer argues that the rituals are usually stricken with a fundamental misunderstanding of the practical principles that guide the reality. For Frazer, rituals are a mere application of beliefs, with little understanding of the whole reality of the practice. Frazer further believes that religious rituals are used as a functional approach to fulfill the religious. Tylor also holds a similar view but being less dismissive of unfamiliar belief systems. In his view, Karl Marx, on the other hand, holds that people use religious rituals as a way to create an illusion of happiness that helps people to cope up with hard economic hard times. To Marx, rituals are used to discharge feelings. These feelings are conscious and come with the desire to meet particular needs. The view is that apes, unlike human beings, are less likely to create the symbolic meaning of rituals. On the other hand, Freud holds that religious rituals are institutions that prevent people from acting and realizing their deepest and inner desires. Freud holds that rituals are unconscious acts that people use to discharge their feelings. The more primitive primates are, therefore, less likely to have symbolic meaning for the rituals.
Apes and other primates tend to show a variety of ritualized behaviours. One significant ritual in which these animals tend to display ritualized behaviours is at death. Both the wild animals and apes can engage in ritualized behaviours at the death of a member. The most common behaviours include silence and distinctive vocalization. Paying attention to the dead is a common occurrence amongst animals. While these behaviours are viewed as religious rituals, some researchers contrast this view. According to Harrod (2014), humans use both symbols and words to communicate ideas and beliefs. Rituals express the shared beliefs and values of the members of the particular group. For example, the death rituals involve deliberate actions to show better treatment for the dead as a sign of last respect. This act has symbolic meaning in culture and embeds in the way of practice. In contrast, apes engaged in the deliberate treatment of the dead as a way of ritual practice remains an area of controversy. Unlike humans, animals lack abstract thoughts for which to communicate beliefs and values practically. Holding that animals can construct meaningful symbols only disrupts the whole thinking about the differences between modern humans and the earlier species of animals.
The various kinds of literature analyzed to provide more information on the existence of ritualized behaviour amongst apes and other animal species. The literature covers contrasting viewpoints about the possibility of the apes being able to understand and practice religious rituals. While this is an excellent source of information for the topic, the literature does not explore the existence of the symbolic meaning of rituals to apes. As a result, more research is necessary to examine whether apes and animals have a constructed meaning for the rituals.
Methodology and Findings
Data will be collected using a combination of a variety of methods. The key documents and ritual studies literature shall be analyzed. In this methodology, more than ten documents and research on ritual studies shall do an in-depth analysis to identify what other authors say about the topic. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the various viewpoints held by other researchers and what they say about the topic. In the analysis of documents, peer-reviewed journals and relevant websites shall be used to acquire the data that will help in answering the research question.
Secondly, the research shall utilize interviews and surveys to obtain data. In the interview, a total of 100 primatologists shall be provided with questionnaires to answer. The primatologists shall be selected using a random sampling technique using a list of ten questions. The first five questions shall be open-ended while the last five shall be specific. The questions will specifically seek to understand the views of the interviewees about the symbolic meaning of rituals to apes. Then, research will analyze to get a clear picture of their understanding of the research topic. The primatologists shall be used because they have a deeper understanding of the primates and their way of life. The third method will involve interviews where fifty anthropologists shall be interviewed through calls to get their views on the research topic. The interview questions shall be framed in a way that allows the interviewee to provide detailed answers to the research question. Interviews shall be used because it creates more space for one to ask more questions for clarity. It will help in providing more detailed answers to the research question.
This research is qualitative because it seeks to explore the research topic using opinions, motivations, underlying reasons, and experiences. It will not involve the use of qualitative data but will instead focus on the qualitative methods to get an answer to the research question. The analysis of the qualitative data shall also use the qualitative data analysis to get the answer to the research questions. This research is essential in understanding the evolution of religious rituals. It will reveal more information about the research topic, which the study will use to conclude. The research is manageable, and it will be an excellent opportunity to take it here at Loyola. Because no articles have been published to answer this research question, it will be a great idea to have the findings published. The published information will add more knowledge into the field of ritual studies in the area that has been previously ignored. The budgeted amount for the whole study is $10,000. The amount will go into covering for the travel costs, data collection, analysis, and printing costs. Due to the tedious nature of this study in collecting data from a wide range of sources, it should take six months. This period includes all the processes involved in data collection and analysis. The six months is estimated to be enough for the researchers to acquire reliable data about the topic.
One of the methodological limitations of the study is the limited number of primatologists from who to obtain data. Due to the small number of theorists in this field, it is more likely that the data gathered would not be sufficient enough to warrant a conclusion on the findings. However, the interview approach was chosen because it allows the interviewer to seek clarifications on areas that are not clear (Bowden & Galindo-Gonzalez, 2015). It, therefore, ensures that accurate and more precise data from the respondents.
Hypothesis: The apes can construct symbolic meanings of the religious rituals that they practice. My view on this topic is that the primates have the cognitive capacity to construct symbolic meaning for rituals. The ritualized behaviours witnessed in many primates are as a result of deliberate actions to display emotions out of consciousness. I believe that the primates have a strong understanding of gestures, which communicates meanings of rituals. Because they can understand the meaning of rituals, they engage in these actions to express their emotions, which reflect culture and values.
Results and Discussion ( TBD)
Conclusion
The whole idea of the ritualized behaviour of apes has been very controversial. Few researchers have studied the ritualized practice of apes, but none has explored whether these apes can construct the symbolic meanings for such rituals. It leads to a research question; are apes capable of constructing symbolic meanings for religious rituals? The approaches used to collect data to answer this research question include interviews, questionnaires, and a review of documents. These methods obtain data from experts and theorists in this field of ritual studies and primatology. The research is significant because it provides more information about the religious rituals of primates. The findings from the research will provide more knowledge on the evolution of human ritual practices. It offers interesting data about the construction of meaning amongst primates and compares it with human beings. However, this project is still pending the actual research, but once completed, it will add more knowledge into the field of ritual studies.
The research only seeks to answer one aspect of knowledge. It specifically seeks to understand whether the primates can construct the symbolic meaning. The purpose is to understand whether apes display ritualized behaviours deliberately with a constructed meaning, or whether it is as a result of natural and unconscious display of emotions. The research does not, however, explore the relationship between emotions and rituals in primates. Therefore, future research will be necessary to explore and provide more findings in this area.
References
Berthomé, F., & Houseman, M. (2014). Ritual and emotions: moving relations, patterned effusions. Religion and Society , 1 (1), 57-75.
Bowden, C., & Galindo-Gonzalez, S. (2015). Interviewing when you’re not face-to-face: The use of email interviews in a phenomenological study. International Journal of Doctoral Studies , 10 (12), 79-92.
Harrod, J. B. (2014). The Case for Chimpanzee Religion. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture , 8 (1).
McVicar, M. J. (2013). Take away the serpents from us: The sign of serpent-handling and the development of southern Pentecostalism. Journal of Southern Religion , 15 .
Rosati, M. (2016). Ritual and the sacred: a neo-Durkheimian analysis of politics, religion, and the self . Routledge.
youtube. (2020). Retrieved 23 April 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqsHPVoILCA
